A commercial court examining the long-running dispute between Cardiff City and French club Nantes over compensation for the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash said Monday it would give its decision on March 30 next year.
Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker, died when the light aircraft taking him to the Welsh capital came down in the English Channel on January 21, 2019, two days after he had signed for the then-Premier League side. He and pilot David Ibbotson were killed.
The Welsh club took the case to the Nantes commercial court in 2023 to claim compensation for loss of income and other damages suffered by the club as a result of the player’s death.
Following an analysis conducted by an expert appointed by Cardiff City, the club estimated their losses at over 120 million euros ($139.5 million). Lawyers for both clubs made their cases at Monday’s hearing.
The Welsh club argue that Nantes, through their intermediary, agent Willie McKay, were the organisers of the private flight on which the footballer was travelling and that, if the transfer was effective at the time of the accident according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it is the organisation of this flight that is at issue.
Cardiff City’s lawyer, Olivier Loizon, told the court Monday, Willie McKay “could not have been unaware of the illegality of the flight”, and argued that the agent had acted with “negligence”.
“Whatever the ultimate cause of the accident, (Sala) should not have been on the flight,” he added.
Nantes’ lawyer, Jerome Marsaudon, insisted Monday the only agent authorised by the club in connection with the transfer was Mark McKay, the son of Willie McKay.
The elder McKay “was simply helping his son, given his extensive experience”, the lawyer said.
“It is sad to see that Cardiff have exploited this tragedy and turned it into a genuine legal farce,” he added. “Nothing in this case justifies holding FC Nantes liable.”
Prior to the start of the hearing, a Nantes representative said the club “have no doubt that Cardiff’s claims will be rejected outright, just like all the others”.
In another case related to the dispute between the two clubs, CAS ruled in 2022 that Sala’s transfer had definitely been finalised at the time of his death.
In 2023, world football’s governing body FIFA ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes the balance of Sala’s transfer fee, which at the time amounted to just over 11 million euros out of a total of 17 million euros.
